The work features the environmental compensation established by the Law on the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC), since its creation, the Supreme Court ruling of the Unconstitutionality Direct Action-ADI nº 3.378/df (that declared its partial unconstitutionality with text reduction), and the last regulation on the matter by the Administration as per Decree nº 6.848/09, intended to be in harmony with the Supreme Court decision. From the analysis of the Decree, we can infer that some standards set for the environmental compensation calculation, in fact retake the notion of a percentage related to the cost of the business impacting the environment, thereby violating the Supreme Court decision and the principle of Separation of Powers. On the other side, the new text of art. 31 of the previous regulation, as amended by Decree nº 6.948 provides for the competence of IBAMA (the federal environmental agency) for determining the compensation amount, so that one may conclude that only businesses that depend on IBAMA's licensing (acting on the exercise of its exclusive federal competence) may be liable for the environmental compensation. Summing up, the text analyzes the innovation introduced by Decree nº 6.848 and also advocates the juridical nature of a tax for the SNUC compensation, which so far has not been tested by the Supreme Court, although it should not be neglected.
environmental compensation; SNUC compensation; regulation; environment; environmental impact